My declaration changed the expressions on the faces of the God's Word Church side.
The Pope, the only one who didn't show a flicker of disturbance, truly deserved the title he held.
Kusama looked completely overwhelmed, eyes spinning.
But the ones who really mattered weren't the God's Word crowd—it was the people seated in the same row as me.
I glanced sideways at their faces.
It's easy to read her because she wears her thoughts on her sleeve.
The problem was the other two.
Shiro was, as expected, completely unchanged. Nothing more irritating than that.
Across from her, Demon King
This was the first time I'd ever come face-to-face with this Demon King, just this morning.
I'd heard bits and pieces about the Demon King from Shiro and Sophia before, but today was the first time I'd met her in person.
From Shiro, I'd only heard that a Demon King existed. Sophia had given me a somewhat more detailed account.
She said that when she was young, she'd been saved from an assassination attempt, and after that the Demon King had looked after her—a kind and gentle person.
Having seen the real thing, my impression was the polar opposite of Sophia's.
This was not, by any stretch of the imagination, a kind and gentle person.
In fact, she wasn't even human.
"Well, well, nice to meet you! I'm Ariel. I'm the Demon King! Call me Ariel-chan, nice and friendly!"
Ariel had introduced herself with such cheerful energy that I simply didn't have the courage to append the cutesy honorific she asked for.
I was barely managing to keep my face from cramping up.
I didn't even need Appraisal—one look told me that this something in the shape of a young girl existed on a level far beyond my reach.
And it told me just as clearly that Ariel was emphatically not the kind, gentle person Sophia described.
That was a vague impression, but a dense aura of what could only be called the stench of death clung to her—the stench of countless lives taken.
There wasn't a literal smell.
But perhaps because I myself had taken so many lives, I can pick out my own kind by instinct.
And hers was a concentration of death far beyond anything I could compare myself to.
Sophia, the god called Kuro, Shiro.
The beings I'd encountered who surpassed me.
Among them all, Ariel was the one who made me feel most acutely that my life was in danger.
In terms of pure combat ability, I thought Kuro and Shiro likely held the edge.
But what set Ariel apart was the absence of hesitation.
Hesitation to kill.
The anxiety I felt from Ariel was different from what I felt from Shiro.
The anxiety from Shiro came from not being able to read what she was thinking.
The anxiety from Ariel was the opposite.
The anxiety of knowing exactly what she was thinking.
Ariel had a clear objective, and she made no effort to conceal her killing intent.
The certainty that anyone who stood in the way of that objective would be eliminated without a moment's hesitation was impossible to shake.
That left me with two paths.
Stand by and watch from the sidelines without getting involved, or cooperate.
I chose to cooperate with Ariel, and by extension, with Shiro.
It would be a lie to say I wasn't conflicted.
Shiro was still hiding something, and I wasn't sure myself whether this was the right choice.
But I figured it was about time I made up my mind and took some kind of action.
The Pope before me had said it.
That he would devote himself to making sure the corpses he'd built up weren't wasted.
I, too, wanted to choose a path where the deaths of all the people I'd killed wouldn't be in vain.
It was nothing more than my own selfishness.
The people I killed would never be satisfied with that.
But I still thought it was better than doing nothing.
Even if it meant staining my hands with further massacres.
"So that's the situation, folks of the Human race—do your best! If things go poorly, Lord Ras might just wipe you all out on his own, you know~"
Ariel cheerfully goaded the pallid God's Word Church officials.
She must have had no idea I'd be making a declaration like this, yet she carried on the conversation without letting it show.
I really mustn't let myself be deceived by appearances and a casual demeanor.
"So! I think that about covers what we need to discuss? Honestly, besides the elves, we're basically enemies anyway. Oh, regarding future communication—I'll be leaving this little one here, so if anything comes up, just tell her, okay?"
With that, Ariel summoned a monster.
At first glance it looked like a young girl, but on closer inspection you could tell it was an exquisitely crafted doll.
"A Puppet Taratect, is it? My, the craftsmanship is far more refined than the ones I've seen before."
The Pope examined the monster Ariel had summoned with an expression that wavered between admiration and exasperation.
"Pretty cool, right? Shiro-chan and I developed it together!"
"Is that so? I have no objections."
"Great, great. Then I'll leave her in your care until the time comes to attack the elves. Feel free to use her however you like in the meantime."
"I humbly accept."
The Puppet Taratect—or whatever it was—took a polite bow.
The Pope's face briefly showed surprise, as though he hadn't expected it to be capable of speech.
"Thanks to Shiro-chan's magical modifications, my doll here can talk now. She's pretty much a jack-of-all-trades—use her as a personal attendant, throw her into combat, do whatever you like."
"This is an unexpected gift."
The Pope said that, but surely no one believed it was a goodwill present.
Ariel was brazenly planting a spy in their midst.
If the God's Word Church made any suspicious moves, Ariel would know about it instantly.
From what I could tell, the Puppet Taratect's combat capabilities were considerably high.
Depending on the situation, it might even be capable of single-handedly seizing control of the God's Word Church's inner sanctum.
If anything happened, those fangs would be bared.
And the God's Word Church couldn't refuse.
Because if they did, who knew what Ariel—who represented an even greater threat—might do.
"Well then, meeting adjourned!
Ariel tried to escort the Pope out with a smile.
The way she suggested it was so casual, like she was asking a friend to go out for a drink.
But the briefest flicker of tension crossed the Pope's face, which told me this was no friendly invitation.
She probably didn't intend to kill the Pope right here, but something unpleasant for his stomach was surely about to happen next.
"So, Shiro-chan and the rest of you—just wait here a moment, okay?"
Before the Pope had even given his consent, Ariel rose from her seat and left the meeting room.
Shiro watched her go in silence, and Sophia stood frozen, unsure what to do.
In that case, I'd go have a little chat with Kusama.
I called out to Kusama and left the meeting room.